AFL alums change uniforms on Trade Deadline day

By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com

It was an interesting Trade Deadline day for baseball's top prospects. Sixteen players with ties to the Arizona Fall League were traded on Thursday, including four players -- Mitch Haniger, Colin Moran, Peter O'Brien and Eduardo Rodriguez -- who were in the AFL last season.

Rodriguez, traded from Baltimore to Boston, was involved in a deal for another AFL alum. The Orioles acquired southpaw Andrew Miller, who pitched in the AFL in 2009, from the Red Sox.

Moran, meanwhile, was involved in a deal that involved three former AFL players. Moran and Jake Marisnick, who played in the AFL in 2012, were sent from Miami to Houston in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jarred Cosart, who also pitched in the AFL in 2012.

Two of the former AFL players traded on Thursday -- Kelly Johnson and Johnny Gomes -- played in the AFL more than a decade ago. Johnson, dealt from the Yankees to the Red Sox, played in the AFL in 2003, and he was dealt in exchange for Stephen Drew, a 2005 alumnus of the AFL.

Gomes, meanwhile, was dealt in one of the biggest moves of the day. Gomes and southpaw Jon Lester were traded to Oakland in exchange for power-hitting outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.

Washington infielder Zach Walters, who played in the Arizona Fall League in 2011, was traded to Cleveland in exchange for shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

Southpaw reliever James Russell, a 2009 AFL player, was traded from the Cubs to the Braves on Thursday. Sam Fuld, a 2007 AFL alumnus, was traded from Minnesota to Oakland.

Haniger was dealt from Milwaukee to Arizona on Thursday, and O'Brien, a power-hitting catcher, was traded by the Yankees to the D-backs in exchange for infielder Martin Prado.

Former Tiger Austin Jackson, a 2008 alumnus of the AFL, was dealt to Seattle as part of a three-way trade Thursday that sent Drew Smyly and Nick Franklin to Tampa Bay. Franklin, a rookie infielder, played in the Arizona Fall League in both the 2011 and 2012 campaigns.

Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.